OPI Hawaii Spring 2015 Swatches and Review

OPI Spring 2015 – Hawaii

Growing up, all I knew of Hawaii was what I saw in the surfing movie North Shore (not the FOX TV show, though I watched that too) and that my mother wanted to go but felt it was one of those places that you visit and never want to leave. If I had a dollar for every time she said, “If I go to Hawaii, I’m not coming home,” well, I wouldn’t have to work.

This spring, OPI is celebrating the island state with a nail polish collection as colorful as the tropical paradise it represents. The twelve nail polish colors of OPI Hawaii include a variety of finishes and a rainbow of hues.

Formula & Application

OPI nail polish is 3-free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP) though it’s been brought to my attention that some colors contain Formaldehyde Resin, but not all. Since my sample bottles don’t come with retail labels, I have no idea of which shades may contain the allergen. It’s best to check the label in store before purchasing.

The OPI Pro Wide brush is flat, wide and medium in length. It’s of average stiffness and easily spreads out on the nail when pressed. The only downside to the Pro Wide brush is that it can be too wide for slim fingers or little toes.

There’s too much of a difference between the polishes to give an overall statement about the application so I’ll address that individually below.

OPI Hawaii Swatches

Note: I did not receive the minty green, OPI That’s Hula-rious!, but, I plan to pick it up and will update the review when I do.

OPI Aloha from Hawaii is a bright fruit punch-esque coral that leans more pink/red than orange. It’s smooth and easy to manipulate, giving full coverage in two coats.

OPI Aloha from Hawaii

OPI Do You Take Lei Away is a cafe, bring on the, au lait creme. It’s a very light beige. The formula is outstanding for such a light color. Two coats and, boom, you’re good to go.

OPI Do You Take Lei Away

OPI Go With The Lava Flow really needs to be seen to be appreciated. Like flowing lava, there is a fire underneath the surface with this one. The warm red has golden mini-flecks mixed with silvery shimmer. It take three coats to get it opaque but it’s so worth it.

OPI Go With The Lava Flow

OPI Hello Hawaii Ya? is a greyed plum creme. It’s like Parlez Vous OPI’s darker, less pink sibling. Like the other cremes, so far, the application is a breeze, requiring just two coats.

OPI Hello Hawaii Ya?

OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked? is a cantaloupe orange creme. It’s more mellow than your traditional orange, like an Orange Julius. I just wish the formula was better. It applied super streaky and patchy. Three coats evened it out but I needed to be pretty heavy handed with the polish on that last coat.

OPI Is Mai Tai Crooked

OPI Just Lanai-ing Around is a pinked mauve with a barely perceptible crystal shimmer. The pigmentation and creamy feel of the polish made for a smooth application in two coats.

OPI Just Lanai-ing Around

OPI Lost My Bikini In Molokini is a vivid mid-tone violet creme. It cooler than A Grape Fit and Funky Dunkey but falls somewhere in between in tone. The formula is a home run, delivering full coverage in two coats.

OPI Lost My Bikini In Molokini

OPI My Gecko Does Tricks is a frosty lime green with a hint of golden shimmer and a bronze flash. It’s in the same range as Zoya Midori and ChG Cha Cha Cha but without the strong gold presence. It has a Sinful Colors watery, sheer feel and needs a minimum of three coats to build up opacity. The bronze shift is visible at the right angle but pretty subtle. If anything, I think it mutes the color.

OPI My Gecko Does Tricks

OPI My Gecko Does Tricks color shift

OPI Pineapples Have Peelings Too! should really be named Pineapple Depressed! I’m sad just looking at it. This golden yellow, frosty shimmer is super sheer, like bald patches sheer, with multi-colored, multi-sized glitters that you really have to work at getting on the nail. The result of three coats is an uneven, fugly mix of colors that I just want to rip off my nails. I can’t with this!

OPI Pineapples Have Peelings Too

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops is a baby pink creme. Like Is Mai Tai Crooked? it suffers from streaks during application and even after three coats, I couldn’t cover the patch in the center of my middle nail.

OPI Suzi Shops & Island Hops

OPI This Color’s Making Waves is a oceanic, green-tinged blue shimmer, sprinkled with tiny gold flecks. It dries lighter on the nail than the bottle color. I think that’s due to the frosty shimmer. This one takes three coats to become opaque.

OPI This Color’s Making Waves

OPI Hawaii Spring 2015 swatches

Bottom Line: The majority of the cremes in this collection are outstanding with Aloha From Hawaii and Lost My Bikini in Molokini being my favorites. And while Go With The Lava Flow doesn’t photograph that well, trust me, it’s worth checking out. I wanted to love Making Waves and Gecko but they’re just okay. Something about them fell flat. And Pineapple, well, if I didn’t make it clear above, NOPE!

The OPI Hawaii Spring 2015 collection officially launches February 2015 at salons and mass retailers nationwide including Beauty Brands, Chatters, Dillards, Regis, ULTA and online at LoxaBeauty.com and ULTA.com.

Thoughts on the OPI Hawaii collection? Which of these do you plan to pick up? Is there a color you would have expected to see in a Hawaii collection that is missing?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for OPI. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

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